comunicativo

Forms

comunicativo (feminine comunicativa, masculine plural comunicativos, feminine plural comunicativas)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin commūnicātīvus.^[2][3] The Latin adjective is formed from commūnicō (“to share, communicate”).^[3][1] Corominas lists the adjective among the derivatives of comunicar and dates it to the 16th century.^[4] Du Cange records the medieval word with the gloss French communicatif, of someone who freely shares what he has.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas places the first record in the 16th century without naming the text.^[4] Autoridades defined it as what communicates itself or tends to do so, quoting the Flos Sanctorum of Ribadeneira: si el bien es comunicativo “if the good is communicative”, God, being infinitely good, must communicate himself infinitely.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word began in theological prose, of a good or a virtue that spreads itself to others.^[6] Terreros gave French communicatif and Latin communicativus as its equivalents.^[7] In the 19th century the Academy defined it as having a natural inclination to share what one has, and added a sense for people, “easy and approachable to deal with”.^[8][9] Chilean and Peruvian texts of the 1860s and 1870s already use it of people who speak openly about themselves.^[10]

The sense “relating to communication” (acto comunicativo) is recent: the DLE has it, but the 2001 edition did not.^[2][11][12] Moliner defines the personal sense as inclined to share one's thoughts and moods with others.^[13]

Timeline

• 1500s – first record, according to Corominas.^[4]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades defines it, quoting Ribadeneira's Flos Sanctorum.^[6]
• 1862 – Chilean texts use it of talkative, open people.^[10]
• 1869 – the Academy adds the sense “easy and approachable”.^[8]
• 1917 – Alemany gives its etymology as Latin communicativus.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to communication (comunicación): el uso comunicativo del lenguaje.^[2][12]
2. Of a person: naturally inclined to share thoughts and feelings with others; communicative, outgoing: Mi vecino es poco comunicativo.^[2][13][1]
3. Typical of a communicative person: una sonrisa comunicativa.^[2]
4. Easy and approachable in dealing with others.^[2]

Related words

• comunicar
• comunicable
• comunicación

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. comunicativo
3. ^ a b Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. comunicativo
4. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. común
5. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre, p. s.v. communicativus
6. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 2, 466
7. ^ Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 1, 478
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1869), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 11th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de Don Manuel Rivadeneyra, p. 193
9. ^ Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 269
10. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. comunicativo
11. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. comunicativo
12. ^ a b Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. comunicativo
13. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. comunicativo
14. ^ Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 423